Exercise To Test ASU and Local Emergency Responders Held Tomorrow, March 30 from Noon to 5 p.m.

Published Thursday, March 29, 2012 at 6:02 pm

By Ben Wofford

March 29, 2012. Appalachian State University and local emergency response units will be performing a mass casualty exercise tomorrow from noon to 5:00 p.m.

Seth Norris, director of Environmental Health, Safety and Emergency Management at ASU said River Street traffic will experience lane limitations but nothing will be closed.

“[Passers-by] will see victims with makeup injuries, a lot of fire trucks and ambulances,” Norris said, “The kind of controlled chaos that comes from an emergency scene.”

A campus building will be involved but the exact location is being kept from workers to ensure the exercise feels natural.

Craig Sullivan, Watauga Medics, Inc. director, said fifteen medics will be taking part in the exercise alongside Boone Fire, local police departments, Blowing Rock and Watauga Rescue Squads, as well as Wings Air Rescue who will be flying in from Johnson City.

These annual exercises have been happening successfully since 2009.

“This is a drill meant to get all our issues worked out, anytime we have a chance to practice like this is good,” Sullivan said.